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We followed along with the announcements from Apple’s iPad event (during which it announced an improved screen with retina display, fancy new apps, and a 4GLTE model. The new iPad will be available on March 16, while the iPad2 will drop in... Read the rest of this post

Taking the Hair of the Dog today for a work hangover — the cure for one job by doing another and another and another.

Puppicasso and I worked too late last night on our day job….

Pupp uses the floor at work for support.

Many people have different theories about how to cure a hangover.  With the football playwoofs over, and the teams for the Super Bowl in place, many losing fans are probably trying to nurse a few self-inflicted wounds with their own version of the HOTD.

For Puppicasso, it is simple:  there is nothing that shopping, stale popcorn and Dublin Dr Pepper can’t cure.

Dr Pup Dublin Picasso

He especially loves the imperial cane sugar in this blend of the soda drink.

He imbibes another cold Dublin.

He was very sad to find out today that the Dublin plant was closed forever last week.

http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2012/jan/21/dr-pepper-falls-flat-in-dublin/

Now, he wishes he hadn’t drunk those two bottles so quickly.  He knows that some formulas for success and great flavors don’t come around that often…  Planets and Minds and Hearts have to align just so.

Puppicasso knew that the ultimate cure for too much work in my life was for me to take on another project.

This one was a great hair to put on ye’ ol’ career wounds that I had been nursing:

(Puppi enjoys taking hangover cures back to those Shakespearean times when that guy kept coining words and phrases. Who did he think he was anyway, Shakespeare?)

Pupp is a Pure Bibliophile.

The cure came to me over a post-wedding breakfast in Tuscon.  That project was Book Club which just premiered on Hulu today at 12:00 A.M. !

Noah Longo, Jessica Runck, and Katey Kowalik (the producers and directors of the series) are the type of folk that you want to work for — ones that appreciate and respect your time, energy, and ideas.

So, Puppicasso generously let me interrupt his blogging for a shameless plug of the series:

http://www.hulu.com/book-club

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Ever since DC Comics launched the ‘New 52′ — a renumbering of its first issues along with same day digital downloads (its sales have transformed! “Justice League” has already sold 200,000 copies compared to 46,000 in the old... Read the rest of this post

Cord cutting is becoming a reality (as cable nets recognize young viewers aren’t interested in expensive multichannel subscription packages. Rather than fight Hulu and Netflix in a battle they’d have a tough time winning, cable operators... Read the rest of this post

Last night, Google announced that its Music service (is out of beta and open to the world at large. So far, the Web has been unimpressed by the service, claiming it’s just a copy of iTunes with its exclusive tracks and free songs of the week.... Read the rest of this post

Spotify just got even cooler with an enhanced version of Spotify Radio (which lets users create unlimited stations by artist, track, or genre, receive recommendations with an improved feature, and skip as many songs as they wish. This should make... Read the rest of this post

'Eclipse' premieres (with the biggest domestic release in Hollywood history. And A.O. Scott says it's "more robustly entertaining film than either of its predecessors." See our YAB Review from Meg Reid for more. Also Twihards have descended on... Read the rest of this post

Yesterday The New York Times published a series of articles under the umbrella title, Sofa Wars. The focus of the series is on how people watch TV and what might be happening in the viewing/TV industry as more and more viewers move away from cable to other types of services.

Today I read through some comments on a New York Times blog post on the topic of cable vs. other forms of access – Hulu, Apple TV, NetFlix, and so on. I started to think, what does this change in TV access mean to teens? Do we know how teens prefer to watch TV? I know that some are definitely using Hulu and other web-based tools (we can’t forget YouTube) for content viewing. What are their favorite methods and how do these methods have an impact on library programs and services? And, of course, this isn’t really just about traditional TV types of content. NetFlix recently announced a deal which provides the company with the ability to stream a large number of feature films as a part of their Watch Now service.

Do librarians serving teens need to think about this and consider what it means for their collections for teens? Is it still necessary to collect TV of interest to teens on DVD? Or, do we expect that services like Hulu, Google TV, and Apple TV will take the place of DVDs? While I understand that some of these services have a price tag, is the price tag worth the cost in comparison to something like cable TV? Does the ease of access, not having to visit the library to pick up the DVD, outweigh that cost for a teen, or a group of teens who might chip in together in order to view content of their choosing? Does this take the place of going to the movies? Does it take the place of going to a movie at the library?

As I think about this, I wonder, what is the library’s role in providing access to movies and TV to teens? For those who show movies in the library, it’s probably at least in part related to the social experience of watching a movie with a group of people. That being the case, maybe the library needs to sell the viewing experience in that way. The library doesn’t make the fact that you can see the movie at the library the selling point, but instead focuses on the social experience, and perhaps in some cases the experience of watching on a high-quality large display.

Maybe it’s about the opportunities libaries provide teens before or after the viewing. The events a library might sponsor in order to give teens a chance to talk about what they saw, or are looking forward to seeing. Or, the video trailers librarians might have teens create that promote a new season of a TV show they are looking forward to.

The thing is, as viewing behaviors change for teens, and others, perhaps librarians need to think not just about access to the content but instead focus on connecting those interested in the content. It’s not a focus on checking-out content, but a focus on checking-in with teens about the viewing they do. Having discussions, providing outlets for expressing ideas about the content, and

Disney goes with Gowalla (not Foursquare or Facebook Places — as the official location-based social network of Disney Parks and Resorts. The startup has launched custom Gowalla Disney Passport pages along with over 100 virtual pins that... Read the rest of this post

James Franco and Anne Hathaway to host the Oscars (as the Academy forgoes the veteran comedian route in favor of what some are calling the "SNL" approach — and almost everyone is calling an obvious bid to appeal to younger viewers. As... Read the rest of this post

MTV unveils (a slate of new scripted and unscripted shows at its upfront today, announcing a new "Teen Wolf" series and confirming rumors that "Beavis and Butthead" will return to the channel. Viacom and Hulu announced a partnership that will bring... Read the rest of this post

If you think Rebecca Black’s ‘Friday’ is bad (check out these other “artists” from the music label that spawned that awful song. Ark Music Factory is capitalizing on [wait, are they capitalizing, because we can't... Read the rest of this post

Plenty of shoppers stalk the Gilt Groupe website (to get the best deals, and now the company’s children’s division is encouraging shoppers to do the same on its Facebook page, where it will offer exclusive products and deals. First up?... Read the rest of this post

Facebook’s latest announcement was rumored as a music service (but it has the potential to revolutionize media in general. The new apps will allow users to see what TV shows, songs, movies, news, and games their friends are using through... Read the rest of this post

Kids' Choice Awards (in case you missed it on Saturday, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson hosted, The Jonas Brothers and HSM's 'Senior Year' came out on top and many many celebs got slimed. Questionable: Pussycat Dolls performance?) (USA Today) - AMTV (true... Read the rest of this post

JONAS (reviews are in for the boys' new Disney Channel series that premieres on Saturday - "It's nothing that couldn't be mistaken for 'The Monkees' four decades ago." Plus EW jumps for joy over MTV's new series the "Ultimate Parkour Challenge")... Read the rest of this post

This morning I caught an interview in The San Francisco Chronicle with Hunter Walk, director of product management of YouTube about the video site nearing profitability three years after the Google acquisition by adding more and new types of ads and... Read the rest of this post

While MySpace has been drawing attention lately for acquiring every i-related music service in sight, this week also saw some interesting developments on the Facebook front. According to Nielsen’s latest VideoCensus numbers, Facebook jumped to No.... Read the rest of this post